Warped Reality
by Hichiisai
Summary: Kyoko wakes up alone in Konoha with nothing but the clothes she is wearing. With her memories gone, she clings to the only thing she can- a five year old blonde bundle of energy who can bring a smile to her face. The seven year old decides to start over with her new younger brother, and finds her own ninja path along the way.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Kyoko groaned as she opened her eyes. A hiss escaped her throat at the pain pounding around her skull but she still forced herself to look around.

_What happened? Where am I?_

As she stood, she gently touched her head and cringed when her hand came away slightly reddish. Looking around, she saw that the sun was near the horizon and the buildings surrounding her were completely foreign. Panic bubbled in the back of her throat and her eyes darted about, trying to find any sign of her parents. The alley she was in was empty other than a single pile of trash at the very end and the road was full of strangers going about their day. Nothing looked familiar and she stumbled back into the alley. With a sob she curled into a ball, huddling against the wall as she hoped she would wake up from this bad dream.

"Are you ok?" a soft voice asked her, breaking through her melancholy. She looked up and saw a short boy with blonde hair and blue eyes standing in front of her. Concern was written all over his face and Kyoko tried to talk past the lump in her throat.

"I don't know where I am, or where my parents are and I'm scared," she managed to get out in a hoarse whisper.

"This is Konoha," the boy told her, trying to be helpful. "What do you parents look like? Maybe we can find them together. Then you won't be scared."

The boy held out his hand to her and she couldn't help but take it. He looked at least a few years younger than her but surely a friend of any age was better than being alone.

"So what do your parents look like?" the boy asked again as he led her out of the alley. Kyoko opened her mouth to answer and then closed it again. No matter how hard she tried to think of their faces or how they looked she couldn't remember.

"I don't know," she finally said, tears flowing down her face. "I can't remember."

"It's ok, don't cry. I don't know what my parents look like either," the boy said, trying to console her. "And if you're lonely you can stay with me. Then neither of us will be lonely or scared."

"Who takes care of you?" Kyoko asked, wiping the tears off her face. The more she focused on the boy, the easier it was for her to ignore the tightness in her chest.

"Well I was staying at the orphanage but they kicked me out so it's just me," the blonde said cheerfully. "It's ok though, I'm a big kid now."

"Why would they kick you out?" Kyoko pressed, frowning now. Orphanages were supposed to care for kids without families, even she knew that.

"They didn't like me very much," the boy said, looking at the ground nervously. "But I can take you there. I'm sure they'd let you stay until you could find your parents."

"No way!" Kyoko startled the boy with how forceful it came out so she hurried to explain herself. "I wouldn't want to stay anywhere that would kick someone like you out. We'll just stick together instead!"

The boy gave her a wide grin and Kyoko felt a small smile form on her own face.

"I'm Kyoko by the way, and I'm seven years old," she said, slipping her hand into the younger boy's.

"I'm Naruto, and I'm going to be five soon," Naruto told her shyly.

"Naruto-kun? I like it. It's a nice name," Kyoko said with a nod, causing Naruto to give her another of his thousand watt smiles.

"Kyoko-chan's name is really nice too," Naruto said swinging their arms a little and setting off.

"So where are we going Naruto-kun?"

"Well it's getting kinda late so we should find someplace to sleep."

"I don't have any money though."

"That's ok, I don't either but it's really nice out so we can sleep outside," Naruto told her, obviously used to doing so.

"Alright, and while we walk, tell me more about Konoha. I really can't remember much of anything," Kyoko said, her eyes darting around as she took in the strange sites.

"Well Konoha is a ninja village and…"

* * *

The next few days were especially hard for Kyoko. She frequently dreamed of shadowy figures and everything seemed so strange to her even without her memories. It was also hard learning to live on the street. Finding places to sleep wasn't bad but no one would give food to the two children and after a few days her clothes were as dirty as Naruto's had been when they met. Somehow they managed though, and Kyoko fell into the role of older sister, watching out for Naruto and making sure he always got more of the food when they did find it.

A few times she even caught adults shooting dirty looks or glares in their direction, but she would just tighten her hold on Naruto's hand and ignore them or glare back.

They were walking down another random street on their fourth day together when a middle aged man stepped out of his shop and waved to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, I haven't seen you for awhile now," the man said, grinning. Naruto grinned back and dragged Kyoko over in his excitement.

"Hey Teuchi-jiji. I've been busy. How's Ayame-san?" Naruto asked

"She's good. Who's your friend?" Teuchi asked, eyeing Kyoko warily as she did the same.

"This is Kyoko-chan. She's sorta an orphan like me and she was lonely and I found her and now we're friends," Naruto explained, though Kyoko realized it wasn't really an explanation at all.

"I don't remember my parents or where I came from," Kyoko said softly. "Naruto found me in an alley and let me stay with him so I wouldn't be lonely."

"Ah, I see."

"I'm looking after him now though," Kyoko hurried to add, seeing the uncertainty on Teuchi's face. "Well, we're sorta looking after each other…"

"That's good then," Teuchi said, breaking into a smile. "Naruto-kun doesn't have many good friends so I'm glad he found you. Now you two look hungry, so how about some ramen?"

"We don't have any money though," Kyoko said, looking down.

"That's alright. It's on the house. Consider it a celebration of your friendship with Naruto-kun."

"Really? You're the best jiji," Naruto said as he darted into the ramen stand bodily dragging Kyoko with him.

"Thank you very much," Kyoko said as she took a seat next to Naruto.

"What kind of ramen do you like?" Teuchi asked as he stepped behind the counter.

"Miso ramen for me!" Naruto called and Kyoko chuckled.

"I'll try the pork ramen please."

"One miso and one pork ramen coming right up," a girl said from the kitchen. "You don't mind if I make it do you Naruto-kun? I'm practicing today."

"I'll always try what you make Ayame-san," Naruto called back and Kyoko couldn't help looking a little confused.

"That's my daughter," Teuchi said with a grin. "She's been helping out at the stand for awhile now so Naruto-kun is pretty close with her. He always says hi when he comes to visit us."

"I'm glad Naruto-kun has adults that look after him too," Kyoko said quietly, gazing at the wooden countertop. "A lot of the grownups don't act very friendly so I was worried."

"Just keep your eyes open," Teuchi said, setting a hand on her shoulder. "And if you need help just come here ok."

Kyoko nodded and started to say more but then the ramen was ready and all she could think about was finally getting an actual meal.

"Isn't this the best!" Naruto said as he inhaled his bowl. Ayame chuckled and set a second bowl in front of him without a word.

"It's very good," Kyoko replied with a chuckle of her own. "I don't see how you can eat so much though. It's going to be hard to finish one bowl."

In the end she managed to finish her one, while Naruto ate a total of three. They thanked Teuchi and Ayame again for the food and then set off to their current camping spot. With a full stomach it wasn't hard for them to fall into a deep sleep.

* * *

A few weeks later Kyoko had gotten used to Konoha and stopped missing a home she didn't remember. While occasionally she would feel a slight ache in her chest it was becoming less and less frequent and her memories seemed to fade more and more. Naruto taught her everything he knew about Konoha's history, ninja, and the Hokage whose faces decorated the mountainside. At least twice a week they would eat at the ramen stand, courtesy of Teuchi, and the rest of the time they would fend for themselves. While it wasn't easy they managed to get by and that was enough for her.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" Kyoko asked for the third time that day. Ever since Naruto had seen some of the vendors decorating for a festival he had been withdrawn and uncertain.

"We shouldn't go into the village later today," he finally said voice laced with something Kyoko couldn't place.

"Don't you want to see the festival though? I thought you would love seeing a festival," she said, confused. Naruto was always full of energy for new things and even she was a little excited.

"It's not safe," Naruto said as he blinked back tears.

"Not safe? But," and then Kyoko's voice trailed off as she thought back over the last few days and how many more glares the two of them had been getting. "Never mind, you're right. We'll head back to our spot now ok. Make sure to hold on tight to my hand. I'll keep you safe just like I promised."

Naruto nodded and tightened his hand on hers. He took the lead and started heading towards the Hokage Mountain. Kyoko realized that it was probably the safest place, but she also realized how far they were from it. It was already mid afternoon and they were on the opposite side of the city. Even if they ran they wouldn't get there before the festival had started.

_They wouldn't dare attack in broad daylight though, right?_

Kyoko nearly sighed with relief as she recognized the last few blocks until they would reach the path to the mountain. They had made it safely.

"Well well well, what have we here?" a middle aged man said, stepping out in front of them. Kyoko moved in front of Naruto and glared at the man.

"What do you want?"

"Just the demon brat behind you. If you know what's good for you, you'll get out of my way," the man hissed and Kyoko could smell a foul stench coming off of him.

"Leave Naruto-kun alone!"

"Why should I? He should've been killed a long time ago," the man said, stepping towards them. Kyoko stepped backwards and was going to tell Naruto to go the other way when she heard a laugh from behind her.

"Looks like we'll be able to take care of it this year though," a second balding man said as he and a third walked out from behind them. Kyoko's eyes darted around and she noticed the small alley. As fast as she could, she grabbed Naruto's hand and darted into the alley, hoping it led out to another street. All too soon she realized it was a dead end and the three coming behind them knew it.

"Nowhere to run girly, so you had best get out of our way," Smelly said. Baldy was grinning behind him while the more serious man just stood and watched.

_Creep, he'll be creep,_ Kyoko told herself, trying to stay calm.

"I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun," Kyoko said fiercely and a random memory floated through her head.

_When facing attackers larger than yourself, you have to stay calm. Take a deep breath, center yourself and then extend your senses. Don't just look at one part of them, watch the entire scene, listen for their movement, and feel it. Keep your stance light and use their size against them._

Her feet slid into a half open stance her front foot pointing towards them and her back foot nearly at a ninety degree angle from it. She left her hands hanging loosely at her side and took a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds and then letting it out. Another breath and she felt centered. The men just stood there watching her until she took her third breath.

"Naruto-kun, try to stay up against the wall behind me," she said as the first man lunged forward.

"Don't say I didn't warn you brat," he yelled, punching straight at her face. As graceful as a dancer she pivoted on her front foot and caught his punch. His momentum carried him further forward as she spun 180 degrees and squatted down, causing him to flip onto his back and land with a solid thunk.

"Why you-," Baldy said as he rushed forward, reaching for her shirt. She stood and pivoted around the punch again, catching his wrist and elbow from the back and shoving him face first into the side of a building. His face made a wet crunching sound and he crumpled as she let go of him.

Creep watched her carefully and drew a long dagger. Silently he walked closer to her and she forced herself to take a deep breath, resetting her stance and loosening her arms. Treating the dagger like a sword, Creep thrust it straight at her like he was trying to skewer her. She merely half stepped out of the way and grabbed his wrist, redirecting his movement so that he ran around her in a semi circle. As he reached her other side, she reversed directions sharply and twisted his wrist backwards over his arm sending him flipping to the ground even as she felt cracking and popping in his wrist and hand. To be sure he didn't get up to follow them, she put her foot to his throat and yanked, pulling the shoulder out of socket and allowing him to drop the knife.

Her mind didn't stop there though. Another memory briefly surfaced and she instinctively followed it.

_Once they are disabled, the next step is to get away. Our art doesn't teach to kill, only to stop, so it is imperative you do not assume they won't follow you._

She walked over to Naruto, watching the men the entire time. As soon as his hand was in hers, she led him along the far side of the alleyway, never letting her eyes leave the bodies on the ground.

Once they were clear of the alley though she took off towards Hokage Mountain, pulling Naruto behind her. When he tripped, she stopped only long enough to lift him onto her back. Then she started jogging again, pushing her body as hard as she could and maintaining the breathing exercise. Eventually she felt her energy ebb and she was forced to set Naruto back down. The two of them found a small cluster of trees and bushes that would shield them from the view of the road. With a groan Kyoko practically collapsed against the tree and Naruto curled up next to her as exhaustion finally caught up to both of them. Before sleep claimed her Kyoko slid her arms around Naruto and pulled him close.

**AN: Ok guys so had this plot bunny hit while working on Copy Ninja and Pup. You can thank Giselle Satomi for me sharing it since she liked it enough to tell me to lol. Enjoy and I'll try to update this regularly but Copy Nin takes precedent. See you guys later and R&R…you know I love reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

Kyoko jerked awake as she felt Naruto move from her arms. She was out of their hole and on her feet instinctively as she realized someone else was out there.

"Leave him alone," she growled as she saw a masked man in black holding the still sleeping Naruto. Adrenaline surged as she noticed two others in identical clothes standing to either side of her and any leftover drowsiness vanished. "Put him down."

"Maa calm down," the first one said as he shifted the sleeping boy slightly. "I'm not hurting him."

_A dog mask_, she thought as her eyes darted over him, trying desperately to tell if he was lying. She glanced around and looked over his companions as well noting their masks. _Cat and a Snake I think._

"Why should I believe you? Almost all the other grownups are mean to him so why would you be nice?" she finally asked, suspicion lacing her words.

"It doesn't really matter to me one way or the other," Dog told her in a bored tone. "The Hokage has sent us to retrieve him so-"

Dog was interrupted as Kyoko darted towards him with a scowl on her face. The man with a Cat-like mask reached for her as she passed but she felt his presence and turned into him. Without pausing she grabbed at Cat's arm and tried to flip him much as she had done to the civilian the night before. However Cat was faster than the drunken man had been. He pulled his arm back and then caught her unprotected arm, turning the grab back on her. Using her momentum, he pinned her to the ground with one arm twisted up behind her and the other trapped beneath her body.

Dog sighed but continued on. "As I was saying, the Hokage sent us to bring him to the tower for his own safety."

"Yeah right! If you were trying to protect him then where were you last night when those jerks attacked us? They were trying to kill us and no one did anything," Kyoko bit out as she tried to break free.

"If they were trying to kill you then how did you get away brat?" Snake asked with disbelief apparent in her voice.

"I protected us!" Kyoko said, glaring at the woman.

"Pfft, they must not have been trying very hard then." As the woman laughed Kyoko felt her eyes watering and tried to blink them back.

"They were! One even had a knife and tried to stab me. It was in the alley a few blocks from the bottom of the hill." Tears were rolling down her face now as her the panic from the night before returned and she realized how close she had really come to getting hurt or worse.

"Snake enough. Go check it out," Dog said in a sharp voice. "Cat, let her up but don't let go of her. And you," he said sharply, "are going to tell me exactly what happened. You are not going to run away or try to pick a fight. If you do I'll tie you up and let the Hokage talk deal with you instead. Understand?"

Kyoko nodded as Snake disappeared and Cat released the pressure on her arm, letting her climb to her feet, though he kept a hand on her shoulder.

"I wanted to take Naruto-kun to the festival since I thought he would have fun. But he was scared and said it wasn't safe," Kyoko said wiping her eyes and toeing the ground a little. "When we're trying to hide from mean people we come out here but we were all the way on the other side of the village and it was later in the day. I figured Naruto-kun had to be scared for a reason, so we went as quickly as we could while avoiding the biggest of the crowds and we made it all the way to the bottom of the hill without anyone really bothering us. But then…"

Her voice broke off with a croak and her hands curled into fists as the faces of their three attackers swam before her. It felt like she couldn't breathe and tears fell freely from her eyes.

"Take a deep breath and focus on me," Dog said, his mask now only inches from her face. "What do you see?"

"A- A dog mask," she finally got out, though her throat still felt tight.

"What does it look like?"

"It's white with red lines and it's not shiny even though it looks likes the same stuff you use to make cups."

"Alright, now stay focused on me. I'm here not whoever attacked you. Tell me what happened when you got to the bottom of the hill."

"A drunk guy walked out in front of us and said he wanted Naruto-kun. He called him a demon brat," Kyoko said, his voice floating through her head. Her eyes traced the red lines of Dog's mask and she tried to push it from her thoughts. "I grabbed Naruto and tried to run away but two more stepped out from behind us."

"And then?" Dog prompted.

"There was an alley, so we tried to run down it but it was a dead end. I pushed Naruto behind me to try to keep him safe."

"How did you stop them?"

"I- I'm not totally sure. I'm an orphan, and I lost most of my memories. When I was standing there facing them it was like I remembered someone talking to me. He had been telling me when fighting a bigger enemy you had to stay calm, center yourself and watch everything. So I took a deep breath and when the first one attacked me my body just moved. I don't even know what I did. But each time they attacked me, I somehow got out of the way." Saying it out loud Kyoko realized how ridiculous it sounded. Her gaze fell to the ground and she fidgeted nervously.

"What happened after you stopped all three of them?" Dog finally asked, gently using her chin to make her look at him again.

"I grabbed Naruto and we ran out of the alley," she replied softly. "He tripped and hurt his ankle though so I picked him up and carried him as far as I could before hiding us and going to sleep."

"Where did he trip?"

"Towards the bottom of the hill."

"You carried him the entire way uphill?" Dog barely managed to keep the skepticism from her voice.

"I was still doing the breathing thing that I had done while fighting. I felt like I was- stronger than normal. Like I wasn't tired. But then I got up here and it suddenly ran out." Kyoko struggled to put the strange feeling she had had into words.

"It could have been adrenaline," Dog mused out loud, tilting his head to the side.

"I don't think so captain," Cat said from behind her. "When I grabbed her, I felt chakra flowing in a very controlled pattern."

"A little young to be accessing her chakra," Dog replied. "Especially without any formal training."

Kyoko listened as the two talked, looking back and forth with wide eyes. Especially at the mention of chakra.

"Chakra is something ninjas use right?" she blurted out. Both masked men looked at her and slowly Dog nodded. "Then how could I use it? I'm not a ninja."

"All living things have chakra," Cat said with a sigh. "Even civilians can learn to use it, though they rarely become good at it if they do not start at a young age."

Kyoko started to ask another question but was stopped when Snake reappeared. Something about her posture caused Dog to stiffen and nod.

"Alright kid, looks like you get to come along too. Cat will carry you," Dog said, his tone making it clear she had no choice. She sighed as Cat picked her up in a princess carry but didn't say anything.

"What's your name anyway?" Cat asked.

"Kyoko."

"Well Kyoko-chan you may want to hold on."

That was the only warning she got before the ninja jumped into the trees and began running across the roofs towards the big tower Naruto had always told her about. It was both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time and Kyoko clung to Cat's armor, burying her face against it anytime they went up or down a wall.

* * *

Kyoko peeked out from Cat's chest cautiously as he finally stopped moving. An old man in white robes sat behind a large wooden desk. His face was partially hidden by a giant hat and a pipe stuck out of his mouth.

"Dog, what is the meaning of this?" the old man asked with a sigh.

"Hokage-sama, it seems there was an incident last night involving Naruto-kun. He is fine but I thought you should know since it was this girl that saved the two of them."

The Hokage eyes widened before he turned his gaze to her and Kyoko instinctively shrunk against Cat. After a moment he nodded and turned back to Dog. The old man began talking and Kyoko's attention wandered as the last bit of adrenaline drained away. Her body felt heavy and it was all she could do to keep her eyes open as the voices seemed to lull her to sleep.

"Kyoko-chan?" she heard Cat ask distantly. "Kyoko-chan!"

She tried to reassure him that she was only sleepy but her body wouldn't respond and the darkness consumed her.

"What is wrong with her?" the Hokage asked, standing to walk over to Cat.

"It appears to be mild chakra exhaustion," Cat said, though his voice was uncertain.

That was understandable given that a girl her age that was not a ninja in training shouldn't have been able to even manipulate her chakra, let alone give herself chakra exhaustion. Sarutobi laid his hand on her and confirmed Cat's initial diagnosis. He sighed and took his hand away.

"Take her and Naruto to a guest room. They can stay there while Dog finishes his report."

Snake took the still sleeping Naruto and followed Cat out.

"Now, what did you leave out?" Sarutobi asked with a wry smile. "And perhaps you can inform me as to why Naruto-kun was sleeping so quietly even after being brought here."

Dog looked a little embarrassed but nodded.

"I used a jutsu to keep Naruto-kun asleep since he is normally a handful. As for the rest, it concerns the men that attacked them..."

**AN: Sorry it's a little shorter guys, but it was a good stopping place. Also my apologies for taking so long to get it up . Copy ninja and Pup has been eating my time. Thanks to everyone that left me such wonderful reviews. I hope to see more!**

**Giselle- Here you go, even better than virtual cookies. I'm also off to get the next chapter of Copy nin done today too XD.**

**Lady Mimi- Glad you're enjoying this story of mine too. They'll be together for now **

**Guest- awww you didn't leave me a name but thank you. Hope you read this chapter too.**

**Izaranna- rest assured I never abandon projects.**

**Kuro- thanks **** Enjoy!**


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